Having worked around financial crimes for a number of years, I noticed they seemed to be on the rise.
One reason for this is technology, which grows more rapidly than laws designed to protect us from it.
Although the blog is a resource to educate people on identity theft, it also strives to educate the common person on the rapidly growing problem of crimes enabled (made too easy) by technology and the Internet.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Counterfeit MoneyGram Money Orders seem to be surfacing all over the place, again! Here is what I wrote about them the last time I posted on them:

Recently, MoneyGram removed the Travelers Express name from their money order product. The new version is branded simply as MoneyGram, printed in Spanish (Espanol) in addition to English.

The old version with the Travelers Express name have been counterfeited and circulated via Internet scams for a couple of years. A lot of them had Walmart's logo printed on them. We've seen similar counterfeit American Express Gift Cheques and Postal Money Orders in recent years, also. Some of these items are still in circulation, including the older Travelers Express version.

For a long time, the counterfeiters seemed to prefer using a Walmart logo. Some of them even came with a letter from Walmart Financial Services.

The newer version, I saw on Friday bear a CVS Pharmacy logo and they are being distributed in lower dollar amounts. Presumably, the high dollar amounts $700.00 and over were being looked at too closely by financial institutions.

Not sure, but they could be starting to use a variety of logos to make them look legitimate. If anyone reading this has seen different, please add a comment to let everyone know.

The newer items seem to be in denominations of $500.00 or less.

These items normally are obtained when a person gets involved in a too good to be true financial scheme, or is solicited by a beautiful woman (or man) needing to be rescued from a foreign locale. This normally occurs on the Internet.

Here are some examples of the lures used to pass these items, along with links to old posts:

Sadly enough, the lowering of the dollar amount seems to have had limited success because I am getting reports that some of these items have been cashed at financial institutions.

The saddest part of all of this is (from an earlier post):

A common denominator in most of the scams is that there will be a request to send the proceeds, minus your paltry cut (normally via wire transfer) back to the person sending you the instruments. That is (unless) they are buying goods from you. In this case, your property is what they want you to send to them.

In other words, if the item is cashed at a financial instiution, when it comes back as a counterfeit -- they will hold you and YOU ALONE liable.

Even sadder, people are also getting arrested for passing them. When counterfeit instruments started getting passed in Internet scams, the financial institutions were a lot more forgiving. This isn't necessarily the case anymore with the amount of losses being taken out there.

More and more often, criminals pretend to be victims and pass the items. I call these people, "reverse scammers" because they have no intention of wiring any money back to the original scammer.

If you are a true victim, I recommend taking to the good folks at FraudAid, who advocate for the people that are really victims. The key is being able to show all the correspondence, along with proof that money was actually wired. If you kept the money from the transaction, it is going to be hard claiming "victim status."

The best way to avoid getting scammed is to call and verify the item at MoneyGram, itself. This can be done by calling 1-800-542-3590. In almost (although not always in theory) all cases, this call will reveal the item as a counterfeit.

111 comments:

Anonymous
said...

June 6, 2008Received a letter today with two Money Gram orders for $950 each. My bank would not accept them, "thank goodness" and the Money Gram verification phone #1-800-542-3590 said the MO #s had already been passed for lesset amounts. So...I did not send MY $s to China as the enclosed letter directed!

July 22, 2008Thank you God for letting this website be available. I got 3 money gram money orders for $950.00 for direction to China as well. When I called the 1-800-542-3590, they Had been cashed at an earlier date for lesser amounts too. They had the wal-mart logo on them. They got my information off of a job seeker website.

Today , my boyfriend received 3 Money Gram Money Orders in the amount of $930.15 from UPS. It was sent express overnight mail. We had no idea who the sender was so we called money gram to find out who they were from and if in fact they were real, and obviously they were not. However, there was no letter asking to return them or anything, It was just the 3 money orders. Thats all. So, after we talked to Money Gram we called usps to find out what we could do to find out who sent the package, it comes to find out that there was no tracking number on the package. How are these people getting away with this? Its rediculous! Hopefully this will help somebody else.. before its too late.

This happened to me, today, also. Fortunately, the culprits screwed up and post dated an official check. My check was for $4990. I called the money gram info. number and they did not tell me anything more than " it looked suspicious". The date of issue was 8/6/08. I'm going to call them back then and see what they tell me about it.

i just received a letter from ups it was shipped overnight and inside of it was two moneygram money orders with 920.00 dollars i went to cash it and the teller told me it was fake. so i double checked on moneygrams phone service and it was cashed already for a lesser amount. i got it from a man i thought was legit on a job seeking website also and this one said Albertsons on it. STOP THESE SCAMMERS!!!!!!!

The owner of our company received a UPS next day air envelope which had 3 money orders enclosed each made out for $850.00. The money orders had both the money gram and SaveMart Supermarkets logos on them. A request was made to cash these and then refund $1000 back to the sender. When we called the money gram hotline we were advised that these particular money orders were invalid and would not be honored.The pay to the order of had the owners name on all three money orders. The purchaser had Wilham or something like that scribbled on that line with an address that just said CA.The handwriting on all three money orders (which were sequentially numbered) was different.Luckily before the decision to cash these money orders was made this website was discovered and it prevented a problem from occuring that could have affected everyone who works here.

Mine today came with a Alberton's logo but they are MoneyGram's. They are fake and I knew they would be~ My local police will be here soon to pick them up. I do have copies. I have two in the amount of $752 each.

I received money orders from someone in China too; in fact, I was in contact with this guy via www.sittercity.com; a babysitting site in New York, so I thought this was legit. The money orders had the Wal-Mart logo and my bank did not find them suspicious or say anything so I cashed them and now owe the bank all of that money! They are getting more and more creative; this was a very elaborate scam.

As we conclude the last week in Aug. I also receive two $970 MoneyGram Money Orders wich total the sum of $1940.7 with A Money Tree logo on top left corner...? So I try to cash one, But filed. Although I receive a copy of it. Kool, BUT I WAS PISSED OFF at the end because there was a DENNYS right across from the Check Cashing place. "Beware Of Scamers"

Today I received three moneygram money orders from Wal-Mart in the amount of 500.00 each. I once worked for a check cashing company and we were taught how to detect whether an item was fraudalent or not. THESE WERE!!! To anyone that receive any type of payment from someone whom they do not know or supposedly issuing payment for an online business, check for different fonts, verify name with address using white pages.com, get number to the bank in which the check is drawn and there is usually a automated system that can tell u whether or not the account is valid and if it is a money order, all of them have a verification number to call. Take pre-caution for yourself when faced with a situation such as this. BE SMART.

OMG... I am so glad I decided to look online about this before going to my bank. I recently applied for a secret shopper job online and last week recieved two money orders with the Albertson's logo for $870 each. I'd emailed this guy a few times trying to make sure this was legit cause it was strange for him to send so much $ to someone he didnt know. Please Beware!!!

Well this must be a big problem because we received a MoneyGram from our son. The banks will not honor it. Has MoneyGram been so effected that it is no longer possible to take one of these money orders?

I am a photographer in CA. I got an email from a "Myrna Schrage" stating that she wanted to book me for her wedding. Before I could even send her a contract, an Overnight UPS envelope showed up at my house with 5 MoneyGrams in the amount of $950 each. The had a "Lucky" logo on them. "Myrna" asked me to cash the MoneyGrams, take my fees and wire the rest to her "Band" in Madrid. I didn't fall for it. The MoneyGrams were fake in that the thermo-doohicky that should turn color when you rubbed it didn't work! Anyway, I will be contacting the authorities immediately. Beware of these scammers!

Today I got 2 money gram money orders with the Albertsons logo on them. The money orders came Fed ex over night i did not know who could have sent them and was waiting for a birthday present so i signed for them. I had been emailing a man named Martin White about a Secret Shopping job but it had already been 2 months ago he had said he would mail me a check to be cashed and the funds wired western union to AZ Then i never herd from him till today i opened up my email and there was an email from him asking me to cash the money orders asap and let him know so he could give me further instructions. I knew the money orders would be fake who would send me 2 for $870.00 so i called the number and they were fake i was instructed to tear them up. Im kinda scared now because he has my name and my mailing address. Plase be aware that a man named MARTIN WHITE with a Secret shopper add is A scam DON'T CASH THE MONEY ORDERS!!!

Hi! I've been 'lucky' enough to receive 4 of these checks today, via DHL. They are Albertson's MoneyGrams, and very good copies! I knew before they even arrived that they would be fake; I was just curious to see how good they would be and how much they would be for. Today's batch is $865 each. Not bad! LOL.

Attention , This is to notify you that a payment for $3480 has been dispatched out to you by one of our clients via dhl and has been delivered to your residence today with tracking number 8952916453. Kindly cash the moneyorders at your bank, deduct your 10% commission and you are to remit the remaining 90% balance via westernunion money transfer to our cash officer in Europe using the following information. JOSHUA AKINBOWALE ASUBIARO CASA 35 IASI, ROMANIA. Thereafter you are to email me the MTCN ( 10 digit numbers on the westernunion recipt ) which He will use to pick the money up. NOTE: You are to deduct from the remaining 90% balance as westernunion charges. You will then email me the final figure sent. I hope to hear from you as soon as possible so that another payment will be overnighted to you. Shawn Bradford

I told him they didn't look real, as the security spot was missing. I also said I didn't feel comfortable sending money internationally. AND that I would have to deposit the checks and wait until they cleared before I would do anything. He responded: hellothey are legitimate checks. Just take them to your bank and have them cashed.You will be paid the money and also you can send the 90% to our cash officer in florida with the following information.Sharon BrownJacksonville,FL.32210

There is no such street in Jacksonville. This is not a Jacksonville zip code, and, of course, the phone numbrer is bogus. The information on the MoneyGrams is slighty different: Steven Angell, 101 WestGate Avenue, Jax, FL 32095. Oops again on the zip code! Almost the same, but still not for Jacksonville. I checked with DHL, and they actually can't tel me where the package was picked up from. Come on! Obviously it wasn't at the address, since it doesn't exist. You'd think their records would be a bit better. I hope this guy had to pay for the shipping at least! LOL.

I was doing a deal on craigslist, selling my guitar when I came across a guy named Rob. I assumed he was local and when he said he got the money orders mixed up and that I should send the excess back I was thinking it was a sketchy deal. In the mail I got 3 MO's for $970.20 each and I knew something had to be wrong, who would trust someone they don't know with that kind of money?! I'm soooo glad I came across this website, thank you for creating this and thank you so much for all the comments. I just was confirmed my money gram that they are fake.

I was doing a deal on craigslist, selling an antique dresser. A guy named Victor Dillinger contacted me as interested in buying the item. When I recieved an email stating his personal representative was going to contact me, my red flag went up. He said he got the money orders mixed up and that I should send the excess back and I knew!In the mail I got 2 MO's for $970.20 each and I knew something had to be wrong, who would trust someone they don't know with that kind of money?! I'm soooo glad I came across this website, thank you for creating this and thank you so much for all the comments. I am taking my money grams to the localPD today.

I just recieved two (2) Alberstons MoneyGram Money Orders in the amount of $890 each in a white envelope with no return address or information. The Checks were delivered 2nDay DHL handwritten script from Annuciation Church, 10670 SE Maricamp Road, Cardler, Fl 34472

I got three money orders in the mail today as a rep for this company unfortunately i have been scammed before with Postal Money orders. But this time it was the walmart money grams so I checked the sender out on the white pages the postal zip did not fit the adress and when i looked up the Ups tracking # it said a totally different state than where the person was supposidly living. So I call the money gram 1-800-542-3590 number and checked them out they were fake. So you see hindsight is a lesson learned so that is one more scam that will get no money from this U.S.A. citizen

I have gotten corprate checks,university checks ,oil company checks,money orders .money grams, i know they are bogus but i keep getting them.i take tweezers pick up the package and take it straight to the cid for fingerprints .i have alot of friends in law enforcement.i will catch these lazy low life pieces of #@$%$#@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am on the other end of this scam. Someone had my credit card number fraudulently, and sent out these counterfeit money orders/checks using MY name and address as the return address. They sent them UPS and FedEx. Then I actually got the bill from Fed Ex!!! Fed Ex said I am not responsible for the bill, luckily, but now DOZENS of these fake checks/money orders have gone out with MY name and address attached to them.

So if you get one, the person listed on the return address may be a victim too. I know I am!

WELL they got me for 1700.00 right here at Christmas and sad thing is they used God to do it... I am a very trusting person and did not know.. the other sad thing is my bank did not catch until the money was gone and I have to repay it.. I also received 3 more money orders in the amount of 850.00 each... I can work to repay.. I just feel bad for the elderly and disabled who can not do what I do and that is still work and I have no savings!!God please help us!

Friday on the 28th I recieved 4 very authentic looking Money gram money orders for $490.00 each. I did not know the remitter, Dusty Robin from Smithtown, NY. They arrived in an envelope with no return address, postmarked from Murcia, Spain. No message, request, or instructions were included, Just a blank piece of paper inside with the money orders. When I checked with Money Gram, the numbers were to money orders that had been cashed two months earlier. I don't know what the purpose was in sending me them.

I have recently recieved some money orders similar to the ones spoken about in this article, the male contacting me sounds Nigerian and sent me the moeny orders. I have not cashed them and have realized they are most likely apart of this scam.Information for money orders and person to look for:MoneyGram moeny orders from Albertson's for $870.00.signed by James Smith. A man named Jack Heather is the one who contacted me about a job with Sony Inc via email. The first email recieved was from a female about the position.

Thank you Jesus!! My first impression was SCAM!!! Thankyou to yahoo answers, you saved me too!! thankyou to the people who spoke up and let us know this "stuff" was out there!!! Merry Christmas to all and to all God Bless!!! Kristy...

I to got 3 money gram orders for 950.10 each along with the same letter as everyone else. However i map quested the address on the envelope and it is a real person. mine came from a jane regan. I am calling the local authorities today and well as in ohio where the payment was sent from. SCAM!!

hello we were scamed to today and im really pissed off because i waisted all my gas driving around not only that i have 2 kids that are babys getting them all ready to go i wish i knew who sent this so i could strong arm them and hold them face down to the ground to the police showed up to take there stupid ass away scammers.

I would like to thank everyone for the information that was put on this forum. I contacted Moneygram today (January 6, 2009) and gave them all the information that was sent to me. I also contacted the person that pretty much could have been the result in me going to jail. This is my first time seeing the realism of fraud and unlike others, my freedom means much to me. It's sad to say that I need to stay on top of things but now I know. Also, some scammers are putting themself off to be employers and they are using Careerbuilders to contact folks via email. This is what happened to me. I would suggest to never ignore your gut feeling. Search it out before making any decision(s).

OMG!!! I applied for this Administrative Position out of a local newspaper. It seemed legit so I sent my resume to the e-mail address. Well, the next day I got an e-mail saying that I received the position and Welcome Aboard! Then they e-mailed me a so called 'contract' and I even questioned that - I don't know why I continued to go ahead with it cause my gut was telling me not to, but I guess I was so desperate for a job I would try anything. I got the instructions for 'Phase 1' as he called it. I received three Lucky MoneyGram money orders for $855.55 via UPS overnight. I went to my bank to see if they would cash them, thank god I didn't have enough in my account to cash them. So I went back and asked the guy if I could cash it at a credit union instead? He said go ahead, so instead I went to a currency exchange to see if they would cash them. They called the moneygram phone number and found out that they were already cashed out and they were bogus. Well, I was furious with them, as well as myself for falling for this scam. So I e-mailed him asking him what was going on? and was this a test? Well, that was over a week ago and I have yet to hear from them. I have thought about going to the authorities on this, but not sure if they could do anything. I have all the e-mails saved and I printed them out for hard copies. If anyone knows of any authorities that could investigate this please let me know thru this website.If anyone sees any advertisent for www.hattronics.com - that is the website I was scamed with. They even went so bold as to send me a postcard that says welcome aboard! UNBELEIVABLE. I will always trust my gut instinct from now on. I thank god I was fortunate enough to not be able to cash these orders.

I wish I had looked this up sooner. Yes, Hattronics looks like a legitimate company and I am going to have to find out if there is anything that I can do about it. My bank cashed them against my accounts and now I am out almost $7K. I can ill afford to be out this money. I don't know what we can do about it, but something must be done. He does advertise on a bunch of websites looking for "legitimate" people out of work and than scams us. what a fool I am and I really don't know what to do except to go to the Police Department tomorrow.

If anyone can help me out, please email me at reachsondra@gmail.com as doing this with this company has completely depleted everything that I had to live on.

My co-worker listed software on craigslist and knew that something was up with a "potential buyer". He decided to play along and received 4 MoneyGram International Money Orders issued by shaws star* on 11/28/2008 all for 850.00. Purchaser info:Dave Moore169 Ky Rt 977Harold, KY 41635

These were sent via UPS Next Day Air. Departure scan was Prestonsburg, KY.

He called the MoneyGram # and they said that they could not verify if these were fraudulent or not. They also said that the circle on the front will disappear when rubbed and then re-appear after a couple of minutes. Of course, none of the circles disappeared.

Somebody should take action and there should be some sort of fraud agency that can try to catch these people.

Watch out for hattronics! I thank God for running into this web site. I just received 3 ace cash express money gram money orders for $855.55. This guy ceasar Hatt and david isacson wanted me to cash these at my bank and keep 8% of the total amount then wire the money to the dominican republic. I'm glad i was able to avoid this scam.

I received 3 money orders in the mail in the amount of 952.00 each I just watched Catch Me If You Can a couple of days before receiving the money orders only one edge was perforiated and it looked like that from regular computer paper the other sides were unevenly cut. I called the Money Gram 800 number and found out the money orders were fake. The person posed to be a secret shop company. Please be aware don't hesitate to call you will be the one paying the mony back.

I also received 3 money orders for $855.55 each; when I called the local Attorney General's office about the scam, they directed me to call the FBI. I reported Matthew Fiels of Massena, NY for sending me the counterfeit money orders. They are titled "Lucky Moneygram" and seem to be very good counterfeits. Beware out there! Call the FBI and report the sender when you receive something like this!

I received 3 money orders each made out for 836.00 from a John Collins in Alabama. They are from Albertson's. We are calling the Money Gram number and will take this matter to the police. This blog was very useful.

Great information, everyone. I saw a job advertised in our local newspaper and was very intrigued to respond to the ”Dream Job Online Assistant Position” since I am out of work and this “work from home” position sounded very promising. Fortunately, I did an online search on Hattronics LLC to learn more about this company before applying for the job when I came across your Fraud & Phishing Blog. Thank you all for posting this great information and warning. I am sorry to hear that some of you were taken by these low-life scammers. That’s why we have to continue to spread the word on these criminals to make it harder or better yet – impossible - for them to find a victim.

I received 3 Albertson's Money Gram from a John Collins in Chatom, AL. They were sent to me via UPS 2-day air. I then received an email from a Paul Miller, claiming he was an art dealer and wanting me to cash the money grams "at my bank", keep 10% and forward the balance to a lady in London, England via Western Union. There was no phone number on the back of the money grams. . I read this site and contacted money gram office they were REPRINTS and had been cashed a year ago. Each Money Gram was for $870. I also contacted the Attorney Generals office and FBI.

Havin worked in a Fraud department of a bank I can't believe how many people fall for this scam. Does it really sound legit that someone would over pay someone and want them to send the rest back? Honestly people, use some common sense. The only reason these criminals get away with it is because people don't use their heads. The criminals aren't stupid, it's the people they scam that are.

Today it was my turn. Recieved 2 MO's for $799.99 each.These came with Safeway logo & looked real good. I tried to call the Money Gram people to see if they were leget & waited on hold for 10+ min's & gave up. Where do these people get the right to waste my min's.Anyway I am making a calague with these. They will be added to the 12 fakes I already have. I guess I am a popular target.

WOW, I was JUST about to cash these Money Orders from Ceasar Hatt & David Isacson. Hattronics. I KNEW it was fishy and seemed to good to be true, but I wanted ot get them and verify them first. I called the Money Gram number and these were fraud. They were Circle K brand, so be careful with those. I had received three of them for $980.20 each, and they look legit!! BEWARE!! If you have more questions, chrissyk7@gmail. com

Boy am I nieve. i applied for a Administrative job on Careerbuilder.com and to my suprise got the job. The ad stated that the job description included billing, invoicing, and collecting payments. Well the only part that was true was the cashing of money orders. I called money gram and they turned out to be fake. There were two of them each for $980.20. SO BEWARE OF CEASAR HATT AND DAVID DE LOS SANTOS FROM HATTRONICS, INC. They do have a web site that makes it look like a true company. They will also try to have you sign a contract of employment over the internet. PPLEASE DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!!!

Similar story as above but now a new twist. In December my son was selling an item on Craig's List for me. Foreign buyer, received 2 phoney Albertson's money orders for 850 each (for a $300 item). Instructed to cash and mail the balance in new money orders. We realized it was a scam, didn't cash them, end of story or so we thought. Yesterday we receive a letter from someone in Utah who is furious because he received fake money orders from someone using my son's name and address. So, how many others have been sent out using my son's information? We know it's the same scammer because he used the same name "R. Tharpe" on all of the money orders. My son called the fellow in Utah and got it straightened out with him. He hadn't cashed the money orders either...but what if someone does, loses a bunch of money and then comes after my son violently? Beware!

So this one is a little different than yours...I answered an ad on Craigslist to do a Survey for Walmart/Moneygram for 200$. I later get an Email from David Horton @ Survey Solutions Inc. They end up sending me a check FED ex for 3,500.00. The FED ex was sent from TX from a guy named "Tim Goggin" and the check was issued from "Intergrated DNA Technologies Inc" as if that wasn't fishy enough I had to send it back to TX as well. Thanks goodness I didn't get caught up. Though I could of really used that money!!

Copy of Email:Good Morning

We apologize for the delay in the Survey, It was due to the weather and Logistic errors by UPS.The survey funds will now be delivered this morning by FEDEX.

Follow the below instructions to complete the Evaluation.

1.1 Deduct your pay of $300 after cashing the check.

1.2 Deduct another $200 for transfer charges and any other expenses incurred during the evaluation.

1.3 Locate the nearest MoneyGram International Outlet near you to conduct the survey by patronizing there services, you are to appear as a potential customer sending a MoneyGram transfer to a relative in TX. Below is the transfer information you need for the wire.

Be sure to observe How long it took you to get services, Smartness of the attendant and Customer service professionalism during the transfer process and Under no circumstances should the MoneyGram Agents know this evaluation is being carried out on them.

Email me as soon as you make the transfer with the following information;Reference #, Amount Sent, Name And Address Of Sender.

A questionnaire form regarding your overall experience with MoneyGram will be emailed to you after we receive the transfer information.

Thank you and get back to me as soon as the survey is completed Today.

Today was so bad for me. My husband and I got home and we checked our mail, inside was a letter addressed to me with no return address, opened it and there was 2 money orders for 950 a piece. We honestly thought that it was just from someone helping us out, we was homeless and our car got taken. now we have a home so we thought someone that knew a friend of ours or something sent it. Yes it was stupid of us. We both thought they were real. I didnt have a clue you cound counter fiet with watermarks and all. So we went to the check cashing place, she told us they were fake and couldn't be given back, we honestly thought she made a mistake. so any ways cops were called and he took my and the casiers statment. He said they were along with the checks going to be given to a detective where all will be investigated, including me. Now because I made a stupid decision I could be going to jail, for as the cop said it being in my name and me trying to cash them. The envelope had no return add. or letter. The MO had my name and my address, witch I thought was supposed to be there, and a name geage mails. I am scarred to death. if any has any info that may help please email me at CinaBard@aol.com

Yesterday i recieved a money gram order for $870. It was a complette fake, went to the bank, i told them the situation, they ran it and said it was a fake thank god i didnt get in trouble. But anyway what can we do to stop these people because honestly i could have went to jail and they sent me an email today and saud you will be arrested if we dont hear from you soon.

Hey, everybody!After finding this site and looked all these comments, I am much smarter.I am personal trainer and have always add up on craigslist to find new clients.So one day some guy named Jeffery (actor like he said on e-mail) contacted me, to get personal trainer for his 15 years old son 3 times a week.For me it was just another new client to work with, so I said that I want to sit down and discuss first with his son about his goals and so on.Just few days later That guy Jeffery sent me another e-mail, that said, his assistant Bob will contact with for the payment, which was not the price I usually charge, but $500 per one week (3 training sessions).So this guy Bob did, he sent me an e-mail, today march 13th 2009, that said I will get moneygram money order by UPS package.I got this package and there wasn't only one money order for $500, but 3 money orders, each one for $950.35 with United Check Cashing logo on it.As we already know after this reading this webpage, these money orders are scam and I even don't bother to go and check are they fake or not.But I will tell you, if I ever should know who is behind this crap - I'm not that friendly anymore.

recieved 2 moneygram money orders today in response to an item for sale on craigslist. both were for $950.00 even though the item was for sale for $900. one of them looks real, a bank even said so, the other is obviously fake; crooked printing, edges of money order cut by hand, etc. Both have albertsons logo on them, and showed up via ups express. they were signed by a party we had never heard of, from an adress that superpages says doesnt exist, in Austin Texas. They will be turned over to police or other enforcement agency, but not sure what good it will do. BEWARE OF THIS SCAM!!!! Glad i researched this before i presented them at my bank!!

Received 4 MO"s from Benin Africa for 950.00 ea lol of course I didnt cash them but just thought it fair to post for the next guy was approached via email Get this they are calling me as I am writing this, Mr.Bill Coley supossedly from Hamptons Estate LTD and a Mrs. Williams want to know if I cashed the MO"s I told him I did, But of course I did not he said he will call me back in 3 hours after western union opens what should I do I want bust this SOB bad he called me from this international number on my cell phone here is the number 2348023302013 Help!!!!

Just became a victim proxy of this scam. My debit card was compromised, I lost close to $700 over the weekend (which I am not liable for, thank God) and then this morning, my day off, after having a panic attack and being hauled to the ER by EMS on Monday over all the stress and insomnia, I start getting phone calls. Luckily, I'm a listed number, and the people targeted in the scam had the presence of mind to ask questions. I talked to two people, left a message with a third, and am praying that there aren't more out there. I filed a report with the local Sheriff's department, but he said basically that the only person who would be committing a crime would be the person who presented the counterfeit instrument (the money orders.) All the people got 2 money orders for $1000/ea.

I really, really need a vacation.

My thoughts are with all of you who have been victims. I'm glad most of you have been unscathed, and I feel heavily for those of you who have lost money.

OMG I cannot Believe I Fell For This Scam!!! I was checking my myspace page, and I have the job ticker at the bottom of my screen I saw and ad for a nanny, in swanton Vt., by a man named CARL LISNEY but he was out of the country he was going to pay $600.00 a week. but he said it has been filled and referred me to JASON BAKER., at bottom is a copy of his first email to me. I sit here at my computer right now with 2 Money Gram Money Orders, with the Albertsons Logo On them. I thought this was going to be a Legitimate thing because the company he was supposedly the mamager of checked out, it was a real company, but then I contacted this company and thye told me that they never heard of him. So now, according to money grams hotline I have two fraudulent money gram money orders, WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM, COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME.My email is kale6207@hotmail.com. I am adding a copy of the very first email from this man, so other people can beware of him.Hello,

My name is Jason Baker, I did instructed Mr Carl Lisney to introduce to me anyone who is willing to work as part-time, since he has gotten a new nanny, actually I am from United State, but currently based in Australia working with OneSteel Inc. We make lots of supplies to some of our clients in United State/Canada for which I do come to United State/Canada to receive payments and have it cashed or processed after I supply them raw materials. Its always too expensive and stressful for me to come down and recieve such payment twice in a month,and Mr Carl Lisney is currently busy travelling because of his art work exhibition, so he can't do this for me. That is why I asked him to inform anybody, who is looking for job to contact me. I am willing to pay you 10% for every payment recieved by you from our clients who makes payment through you. The payments will come to you twice a week you are meant to deduct 10% out of each amount you receive as your own commission,and send the remaining funds to any of our warehouse manager that will be given to you.

Please note that you dont have to be a book keeper to apply for the job..Kindly get back to me as soon as possible if you are interested in this job offer with your:

ATTESTATIONAccording to how you have been briefed earlier by a qualified representative of this establishment. You are required and mandated to receive payment on behalf of the below mentioned firm. You are to deduct 10% of all funds processed on a particular order and forward the balance payment via Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gramm Money Transfer to any of "ONESTEEL INC" Group regional warehouses that will be given to you later. You will notify the company a week ahead if eventually you want to discontinue this job so as to terminate all payment coming your way to avoid conflict...NB; PLEASE REPLY BACK BY FILLING THE FORM..

THANK YOU KALEY! I did the same thing, but the way it sounded at the end I googled it and found your comment, I emailed them back w/ your post (minus the email address) and said no thank you, I knew this seemed fishy. This is the one he sent me....sounds like he has a different company. You can give the money grams to your local police department i believe.

My name is Jason Baker, I did instructed Mr Carl Lisney to introduce to me anyone who is willing to work as part-time, since he has gotten a new nanny, actually I am from United State, but currently based in Australia working with Below Cost Steel Inc. We make lots of supplies to some of our clients in United State/Canada for which I do come to United State/Canada to receive payments and have it cashed or processed after I supply them raw materials. Its always too expensive and stressful for me to come down and recieve such payment twice in a month,and Mr Carl Lisney is currently busy travelling because of his art work exhibition, so he can't do this for me. That is why I asked him to inform anybody, who is looking for job to contact me. I am willing to pay you 10% for every payment recieved by you from our clients who makes payment through you. The payments will come to you twice a week you are meant to deduct 10% out of each amount you receive as your own commission,and send the remaining funds to any of our warehouse manager that will be given to you.

Please note that you dont have to be a book keeper to apply for the job...Kindly get back to me as soon as possible if you are interested in this job offer with your:

ATTESTATIONAccording to how you have been briefed earlier by a qualified representative of this establishment. You are required and mandated to receive payment on behalf of the below mentioned firm. You are to deduct 10% of all funds processed on a particular order and forward the balance payment via Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gramm Money Transfer to any of "BELOWCOST STEEL INC" Group regional warehouses that will be given to you later. You will notify the company a week ahead if eventually you want to discontinue this job so as to terminate all payment coming your way to avoid conflict...NB; PLEASE REPLY BACK BY FILLING THE FORM..

Maybe my experience will help someone else avoid getting connned: I nearly got scammed with counterfeit Moneygrams mailed to me by a con-artist posing as a Surgeon from the Phillipines. He first contacted me via email a couple of weeks ago, regarding a condo I had listed "For Rent" on the internet. He said he was going to be studying/working in the US and wanted to rent my property for a year. I told him he needed to send me a deposit to hold the condo & that I would only accept a check or money order drawn on a US bank. To make a long story short, I received his money orders yesterday. They looked legit as far as I could tell but I decided to hold onto them for a day or two "just in case." This morning another email arrived from him saying that he "mistakenly" sent me too much money and would I be so kind to wire a portion to his travel agent here in the States so that he could immediately book a flight to the US? I called Moneygram at the phone # listed on this website. Once I gave them the check #s they were confirmed to be fradulent. Thank goodness I found this website! This guy was very smooth and articulate; Asking me detailed questions about the condo, what is the weather like in Arizona at this time of year, etc. UNBELIEVABLE!

I received an e-mail from a Michael Reid in response to a nanny position I asked for. He offered me a non babysitting position that had me doing errands for him and he would pay $400/mo. He then sent two moneygram money orders for 925.15 each and asked me to cash them take $400 out and western union the rest to Nigeria address. Yeah Right!!! I sent a complaint to the FBI website and kept copies of everything but too bad nothing will happen. Just keep posting to let everyone else know not to be fooled!!

Now it was our time. Found the personal assistant posting in craiglist. the person Micheal Emperir, with a yahoo address. Supossedly a Real State Agent, who has an Art gallery in Australia and needed help paying bills and shopping on his behalf. After exchanging approx 5 emails, we received our first UPS overnight shipment. It was 2 money orders, for $925.17 each. both from Moneygram. They immedialty looked suspicious, therefore we called MoneyGram to confirmed what our intution told us. The remitance address in the UPS envelope was from Utah, as well as the money orders. However, the UPS tracking number said the package was picked up in Atlanta. We just reported this scam in the FBI website. STOP THESE SCAMMERS!!!!

I had received 2 ey orders in the amount of $980.00 each. I had received a message from a RoChampBenz email: mail@grenoblesportauto.com and both had no information for them so they were fraudulant. I will be emailing them in a little to let them know that i know its fraud and to rub it in their faces. Just wanna thank this website because if i wouldnt have seen it i would have never know they were bogus! Thankx guys!!!! BEWARE....ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN.....IF IT DOESNT SEEM RIGHT...IT PROBABLY ISNT.

Thank you for this site. I call the MoneyGram number and was told the money orders were not in their system in the amount printed on each. The person who sent them by UPS overnight is impersonating a doctor in the Philippines. Weeks ago I had confirmed with the real doctor, so it was no surprise the money orders are counterfeit. Wow, a landlord has to be so careful. And yes of course the imposter wanted a portion of the over payment sent to someone else. What scammers. Just call me cautious in Florida.

Over the past two months I have come across a man advertising for a caregiver to care for his father when they arrive in San Diego from London. I was told I had the job and he was to forward a money order in the amount of $900? and to take the first 20 hours pay @ $20 an hour. Then send the rest back to him so they could get here. Fortunately a red flag went up because I couldn't understand how someone needed money to get here when they were going to pay $20 per hour 40 hours a week. This scam used sympathy. The father "has" advanced stage Alzheimer's. You should have read the e-mail I sent back!

This past week I have received two long e-mails from two "old ladies" in foreign countries who recently lost their husbands and inherited monies they couldn't get to from their location. Again, sympathy was used and, I guess, admiration for the old lady because she would have the appointed executor distribute the money to local charities and even build a local hospital for children. God-fearing was used alot. I'll say they ought to be god-fearing for their karma will come around!

I received 2 MOs --Albertsons Moneygram--for 927.00 each today. They spent a ridicioulis amount of money and even called trans-atlantic (which, I'm sure cost them money) and the moneygrams are fakes. Mark Smith from Australia sounds Middle Eastern and he wants American Christians--ONLY Christians--to wire money to his raw materials agent in Cambodia so he can buy the materials for their art studio. Now, whay can't they obtain these things for themselves--dosn't Austrailia have art materials??/ Don't they have moneyorders?? If Mr. Smith owns this company and has $$$ to just throw around on overnight ups shipping, international calls, etc. etc., WHY can't he pay his OWN agent?? Ever heard of a Payroll or Business Account (s) Mr. "Smith"?? He even praised the Name of our Holy God when spoke to me---WHAT??? But yes, praise Our God, because 2 of MY uncles are FBI---AND the Holy God of Israel IS MY God!!!! He who laughs last---

I received 2 money orders for 695.05 each.. Took them to CVS and they said that they were valid.. Took them to the bank and asked if they thought they were real.. But called Moneygram but it says that theere are no hold on hte funds.. Goodness, I wish scammers would use their intelligence for something other than committing crimes!!

I'm a dog breeder and posted my pups on a website that sells pets. I got a response from a woman "Angela Curtis" stating she wanted to purchase one of my pups. She claimed that she had a hearing impairment, and special circumstances that did not allow her to pick up the puppy herself. She sent me 2 MO in the amount of 975.00 each. Then stated that if i could help her out and send the difference to her "shipping agent" for his fees for shipping/picking up of the puppy. She used the excuse of having physical disabilities that kept her from arranging delivery on her own. THe MO's looked legit.........but had a bad feeling. Called Money Gram, found out they were bogus! STAY SHARP OUT THERE! These scammers need to be put out of business!

I HAVE CANCER 6 CHILDREN MY HUSBANDS HOURS HAVE BEEN CUT AT WORK TO HARDLY NOTHING AND WE ARE ABOUT TO LOSE EVERYTHING I WAS TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING I COULD DO TO HELP GENERATE AND INCOME TO RELEAVE SOME STREES OFF OF HIM AND THIS IS THE CRAP I GET YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU SCAMERS ARE DOING TO FAMILYS I JUST RECIEVED 2 MONEY ORDERS TODAY BY UPS IN THE AMOUNT OF $977.77AND I CALL THE NUMBER YOU GAVE ME THANK YOU VERY MUCH YOU KNOW PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING SO BAD RIGHT NOW AND CHILDREN ARE GOING HUNGRY FAMILYS ARE LOSING THERE HOMES,,,,

Received two fake money orders today each in the amount of $750.No letter, no nothing! Someone went to a lot of trouble to try to get me in trouble, and I'M NOT HAPPY! GOOGLE MAPPED THE RETURN ADDRESS: P. MOON11703 67TH AVE NSEMINOLE, FL 33772

Wow! I'm also glad I found this site. The scam is still going on. They advertised through cragslist as a Marketing Firm conducting surveys. I just recieved four money orders for 800 dollars each! Who would trust somebody they don't know with that kind of money?!

I work at Sonic and I recieved a money order for $150 the other day from a customer. The customer said that he believed in Christ and the power of the lord and he felt that he should give the money order to me that day. I want to believe that it is real and I don't see how anyone could really scam me this way but it just seems so odd. I guess I will call moneygram and talk to someone to see if they can varify the money order or not. I am scared to bring it to the bank to see if it is real or not because I don't want to get myself in trouble with the law if it is fake and i don't want to end up owing money. It is just so weird!

This is obviously a well layered scam. Just recently (6.1.09) my personal information and debit card number was used to open a fraudulent fedex account. Luckily i noticed the account opening fee the next day and contacted bank reps that immediately canceled the card. I then contacted fedex to inform them that this account was opened through fraud and that it should be closed immediately. The fedex rep then informed me that who ever stole my information had already sent out roughly 30 fedex priority packages from Texas. This location in Texas is approximately 1200 miles away from my house so they were pretty understanding.At this point I still thought that i was just another victim of credit/debit card fraud. About a week later i recieved an interesting package in the mail. Bet you can guess what it was!!! An Albertsons money gram for $950 with a detailed letter explaining what to do with the money gram and the remaining money to be wired to DUBAI, United Arab Emirate. The difference in my situation was that the package wasn't addressed to me it was a RETURN TO SENDER!!! To make a long story short there are roughly 50 of these fraudulent packages sent all over U.S. that have my name and shipping address attached to it as the sender. I know i originally stated 30 packages but those were the packages sent in the couple days the account was open. There has since been 20 packages sent after the account was closed!!! How is this possible that the account is closed but i still recieve invoices for payment on these other packages? Fedex replyed that they just charge the shipping address regardless if an account is open or not which is RIDICULOUS!!! That's basically fueling this scam since there is no accountability. I'm still waiting to recieve a call from some fraud authorities or at the least some pissed off individuals such as yourself that have recieved these money grams with my personal information as the sender.As initially stated this scam is at times being fueled by credit/debit card fraud as in my case. So citizens BEWARE and be INFORMED!!!

THIS BLOG JUST SAVED MY LIFE! THANK YOU. THEY ASKED ME TO BE A SECRET SHOPPER AT WESTERN UNION. I WAS TOLD TO GO DEPOSIT THE MONEY INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT. TAKE MY SHARE OF $120 AND SEND THE REST OF THE MONEY BACK TO THEM. I WAS SENT TWO CHEQUES $775 EACH. IF I WAS ARRESTED I WOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED. WHY DO THEY DO THIS TO INNOCENT PEOPLE. MOST OF OUR INFORMATION THEY GET THROUGH JOB SEEKER WEBSITES. THE PEOPLE WHO VISIT THESE SITES ARE PEOPLE STUGGLING TO GET A JOB. THEY MAY BE ALREADY BROKE. IMAGINE HAVING TO PAY FOR A LAWYER. IM JUST GETTING READY FOR UNIVERSITY. OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. GOD DO SOMETHING!

After reading these post about people getting scammed with fake money orders, one would have to think about just how desperate and stupid you fools have to be to fall for crap like this. Nobody sends anyone large sums of money to people like this. If you so stupid then tough. I don't like the low life scammers but come on people wake up..

Thank you!!! I had a feeling..so Googled the name in an email I just received. Sure enough, on this very blog, someone else was approached by the hearing impaired Angela Curtis. Same, exact story line. She/He or They...contacted me regarding an item on Craigslist, I have since reported them there as well.

What is the matter with me? I always shaked my head with disgust when I heard about people who'd been dooped. Well, welcome to the party! I received three money grams in the amount of 750 a few days ago. I had applied for an international mail package handler position on a website, and they had contacted me within 48 hours. The damn money orders were way over our "contract agreement". Like 2,000 over. I've since email them asking them what's going on, and whatdoyaknow, I haven't received a response. I didn't deposit the money or anything (and it took the disapproving glare of my mother to make me sick with shame) It's so sad. I was so desperate for a job that I didn't see all of the signs--the poor grammar skills, the late pseudo-payments, the "its too damn good to be true" thoughts.

Luckily, I got smart in time. Sometimes your gut is all you have. If anyone is associated with K&M International Ltd., run. NOW! PLEASE! YA STILL GOT TIME.

This morning, 8/26/09 I received a FedEx overnight envelope from a Patrick Pecoraro, mailed 8/25/09, from 225 Washington Ave, Miami Beach FLA. Inside were two Moneygram Money Orders, each for the amount of $850.00 with the CVC Pharmacy logo. There was no note nor anything else in the envelope. I have never heard of the named 'sender' and 225 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FLA Googles up as the Miami Dade County Courthouse. I called Moneygram and they checked the numbers and told me that they were both invalid and that one was cashed two months ago for $10.00 and the other one was cashed last month for $16.00.

I recieved 2 money orders from safeway for 950.00 dollars they where signed by a Vincent Belfiore 23 oakwood VLG apt 3, Flanders, NJ 07836-9023. Thank god for this site they had no information and where found to be fraud. I have my name posted on a job site and these where sent from a person named Jack Douglas e-mail jackdouglas99@yahoo.com. It was sent for me to be a mystery shopper through the usps. I called the number in the letter and it was not a valid number. Be careful. THEY LOOK REAL! But it will come back on you not them because they didn't cash it you did. I am so glad we can worn people before hand. Nobody would sent someone money without knowing them. Would you????? Think about it. Thanks for letting me post my comment.

PROSECUTE THESE PEOPLE THIS IS A CRIME..... I HAVE RECIEVED MANY PEPBOYS AUTO AND FROM SAFEWAY MONEY GRAM HOW CAN THESE CRIMINALS GET AWAY WITH THIS.... THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO PAY..... MAKE THESE PEOPLE SHOW VALID FORMS OF ID AND DO MONEY ORDERS ELECTRONICLY.....OR SOMETHING

I received two safeway money orders in the amount of $870.00 each. They came via UPS expressed over night. I had no clue where they came from, so I decided to do some research, and found this blog... THANK YOU! I am calling money gram, and the local police.. I hope these jeks are caught and put away!

i recieved a package from ups today, inside was a albertson's money order for $950.00, for a mystery shopper position, i first looked up the money order and found this site,thank god i looked it up first, what a shame that people do this to other people who are really strapped for cash at this day in time, don't fall for this mr. williams fellows email

Hi Folks... I received 3 CVS Pharmacy moneygrams for $975.00 each for an guitar amp that I had listed on Craigslist... Listed for sale at $249.00.. I smelled this rat out on his first e-mail but agreed for him to send me the money and I could send amp when funds cleared.. Yep, they were forged moneygrams... but, at least that piece of camel dung had to spend $4.60 to mail his bogus paperwork to me and I turned all emails and moneygrams over to Postal Inspector... Damm that feels good!!!!!! If it seems too good to be true..... bet your hiney that it is!!!

I recieved package today from ups , and in it was two money orders for $950.00 each the man,s name on it was steve thomas ...10/8/09 it is a scam so these poeple can get over on you ...and i also got a check today same way ups and the check was for me to be a myster shopper , it was for $2300.000 i was to keep $200.00 , spend $50.00 at walmart and pay $50.00 to send $2000.00 back to the person susan smith..lol they really think we are all crazy..go to hell scammer

I received two money orders issued by MoneyGram with the Alberstons logo and after some careful investigation and contacting the purported sender, I determined that these were fraud and was further confirmed by MoneyGram. The date of the money orders was August 25, 2009. I called moneyGram who confirmed that these money orders were previously cashed for different amounts. Please be aware of this scam.

SLC, UT 11/17/09My wife received 2 MoneyGrams for 895.55 each today via Fed Ex. Sender's name: John Lewis, 116 N Chicago St, Two Rialto Square, Joliet, IL 60432 (This appears to be a valid address per MS Streets & Trips). I signed for them, not knowing what Fed Ex was shipping (I often receive packages, etc. from Fed Ex). With NO letter or explanation, I googled John Lewis and MoneyGram. Only thing that came up with that search was that MoneyGram was paying 18Mil in an FTC settlement. But the payment was supposedly (I inferred) to the FCT where the FTC will reimburse consumers?)It appears that John Lewis is a congressman! I tried calling the Moneygram number (800-542-3590) but all I got was a "transfer to representative" and 15 minutes of white noise. My wife says she's received no emails, etc. but I suspect that in a day or two she will. She uses craigs list for job searching. Her name is unusual but it was correct on the fed ex airbill. FedEx tracking indicates that it was "picked up" in Aurora, IL.There are at least three "anomalies" on the checks:1. On the reverse side it shows what the front of the check looks like and it has lines between the numbers. On the obverse they are dots.2. There is supposed to be "crt" next to the dollar amount but it had "Crt" (capitalized C instead of lower case).The money order was "issued" by Albertson's. 3. Futher the money order had "INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDER" on the front and clearly, this was a domestic transfer.Also, it was payable through Wells Fargo, Anchorage, Alaska!4. Additionally, the red MoneyGram logo was slightly off from one check to the other (even though the numbers were sequential) and the "rub circle" imprint was also slightly off center.5. LMAO! Also, the sample on the back has "dols" between the dollars and cents but on the check front it has, get this, "SIOP"!Lastly, while signed by John Lewis, the "payee" was blank.

Well, I'm sure the scammers are reading this and pages like it to further refine and perfect their scam - sorry for that part but if this posting helps one person, then maybe it was worth it.

Since its a congressman's name on the check, I wonder if congress will do something about going after the LOCAL scammers...

I recieved two money orders in the mail today both for $875. They were from a Victor Smith in Sacramento CA. I called that number and they have both been cashe over a month ago for a much less value. In the enevelope there was a letter saying to email them to confirm. I emailed them alright. This is so frustrating!!!!! Thank goodness fot this site!!

Received 2 Giant Eagle(supermarket) Money Grams today,each for $977.22.Nothing else with them,but the little authentic circle you touch at the bottom didn't disappear when I rubbed it.The FBI & CIA both said just shred them their up to their eyeballs in them & trying to catch all these bone heads taking advantage of people.They came out of FL.from the usps,postage was ran off of their computer.Phone #' to call are1-800-553-2324 &1-989-497-0580

I was almost taken by this "Australian Guy", so I did some sneakiness of my own! His phone number is 404-246-4182. If anyone else is angry with this fraud crap, have fun with his phone number!!!!!! hehehehe

Just received two $870.oo Safeway Moneygrams via UPS from Shaun LaBate of 21 Second St., Jersey City, NJ 07302. Have not opened or chatted with anyone I didn't know on the internet, so I don't know where they got my information. I have done a lot of shoppping online for Christmas could it have come from that ? Any thoughts I would appreciate. I know enough not to do anything with them except to bring them to my bank in the morning and then to the police station. Thanks for this site.

My daughter is a model. She received four CVS Pharmacy money orders for $870 each. She was asked to deposit the money orders in her account and then wire a portion of the money to the studio for a photoshoot. She knew this was never done in the business and, no surprise, it turned out that the money orders were counterfeit. Because she stayed alert to possible scams she didn't cash the checks and in the end was only out a little of her time, but it could have been very costly. She contacted the police but of course not much they could do about it.

hello, So I was looking on craigslist one day under the general labor on jobs. There was an ad wanting cleaning done and if interested to email them for details. So I emailed them saying I was interested, thinking it was in a town nearby it would be no prob. I get an email back saying this guy just got married and they are coming to the U.S. for their honeymoon from Germany. They want this place they are staying to be cleaned so they can have a good time for 4 weeks and I would get $350 each week. He was going to send me a money order and I was to deduct $350 from it and send them the rest to some booking agent for their trip. Some "client" he had in the US was goin to be sending them. I was weary, but I went ahead and sent them my name and address. I didnt get a response a day later so I sent an email tell them i wasnt interested anymore. 3 Days later no response. then i get an email tellin me they sent the money order and i should get it the next date and to cash it keep 350 then make a money order from western union and send it to this booking agent and they were gonna tell me their flight detail so i could pick them up from the airport. Im thinking wtf. I get the money orders today and its 2 $750 moneygrams. I found THIS SITE and got the number to verify it and their is not verification status on them at this time.

It is kind of funny that the town i was supposed to go to to pick them up that i thought was 45 mins way from me was actually the name of a town in a totally different state. He went by Chris klein. daniel tekancic is who sent them to me and they were in a different state ,Ohio. hope this helps

My fiance received two different packages today from FedEx. In each of the packages were two money orders each for $925 from the United States Postal Service. We haven't been selling anything and there was no letter or anything in either of them so we knew it was a scam but took it to the postal office just to make sure. Of course it was a scam. They both came from California, two different addresses, same handwriting, but both the tracking comes from the same place in California. They knew my fiances full name including middle name. We though it was a joke because it was overnighted to be received today, on April Fools Day. After reading information on this posts, I am almost sure that it came from a secret shopper job that I applied for using his name. We will be reporting them too.

Some of you said you reported people to the police that lived in America. Did you ever think that maybe the person that sent those money orders stole someones idenity and used it as a fake address. I mean after all these people are expecting you to send money to them by wire or western union. I mean cmon people, you really think these people would give their real address out.

I have been try to find info out about Tab Service Company for over a week now...today i received 2 mo or 950$ each...im sure they are fake. Shortly after i received an email with the tracking # of the UPS package...yes it matched but the email wasnt even directed to me...how dumb do they think i am...what should i do now??

So Yesterday of all days was my grandmother's funeral. I checked my mail as I was heading to my car to go to the funeral. I opened my mail and there was a handwritten envelope with my name address and everything on it. No return address just a post mark of Philadelphia on it. So I opened it and to my surprise there were 2 money gram money orders in it from albertsons. No letter no instructions no nothing. I have no signed up for anything like secret shopping etc. So I thought possibly that my grandmother had someone send them to me as she was sick for a while and they were dated August 4th of 2010. She knew my husband and I were having some financial troubles. Either way I thought well maybe someone that knew we were having troubles sent them to me. I called money gram this morning. The first one they checked and were unable to verify the amount on it. So they said not to cash it. The second one they couldn't verify whether it was legit or not because the information had not been updated. They said there were no holds on it or anything. They said if I wanted to, to go and deposit it in the bank to see if it clears. She said to call back in about 3 to 5 days to see if there was any updated information on either one. But I am just thinking it is a scam. I have had someone ups me a 10 k check before. That was a huge ordeal but I knew where it came from luckily so I never cashed it. We called the company that was listed on it and found out the check was stolen. So I am just going to rip these up and forget about them. Thanks to reading all of this information and speaking with money gram I know now not to do anything like cashing them and things. They looked so real. I rubbed the seal which is supposed to turn white and then go back to pink and of course they didn't. I can't believe people are constantly getting away with this every day. Just scares me to know some crazy weirdo has my address etc.

My wife just received a letter containing 5 of these Moneygrams with the CVS logo. The envelope came without a return address, but had postage and cancellation stamps from Russia, but the address on the Moneygram was in California. She is a MaryKay consultant and was supposed to deliver a large amount of product in return for these checks. Thankfully this and other sites clued us in before we made a major mistake.

Thank you all for this information!! I got2 money orders for $950.00 each. From someone I didnt know. I called money gram and they are fake, they were cashed before and for smaller amounts. I also replied to an ad on craigs list that was looking for a "personal shopper" Im glad that I new it was too good to be tru!!

Our postal deliverer in a rural area, had to drive up special in order to deliver a returned Express Mail Envelope (postage cost on this overnight USPS Express Mail was about $22.00!). They are required to deliver before noon time in such a case and that was the reason for the special trip to our home.

It was being returned since the recipient refused acceptance of the package. We ONLY discovered that our identity was being used due to the envelope being refused. So far, there's no unauthorized credit card charges by this scammer for the postage cost. I don't think USPS allows billing without charging up front?? The postage for the envelop was prepared on a Click N Ship postage label done over the computer. Could the scammer have set up an account and charged it to be billed later to us? This was only two days ago so I'm worried.

And how many of these were sent using our address? Will the recipients of these checks be contacting us? Our address was not on the checks or on the letter document inside the Express Envelope....ONLY on the Return Address outside the package on the mailing label (Click N Ship). Where did they obtain our identity and what else do they have?

So they tried to get me too today 12/16/10.I recieved 2 CVS/Money grams today via ups with tracking# in the amount of $950.They stemmed from a work from home site i went on about 1 1/2 months ago.A few days later i recieved an email from a job offer wanting someone they could trust to do their books as well as work with and set up the payment part of their vendors they do bussiness with. They asked me to get back to them with some info about myself so they could make a decision on which applicant to hire.I sent them an email back asking a few further questions and didnt hear back.I Had completely forgotten about this until this morning i was checking on tracking #'s for christmas gifts and stumbled upon a tracking# from this individual.He stated he had sent me a package via ups overnite with 2 moneyorders in it.He told me this was a trial run and he was only sending me one transaction this time to see how i did. Im suppose to get back to him via email when they clear my bank. And so i shall minus the bank anyway.I feel so bad for the people that have fallen for this scam in these desperate times, i mean the moneyorders do look real as well as everything they were saying to me minus sending someone u dont know $1900.00. and hope for the best. Based on all this i feel a sequel comming on to CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and im auditioning for Tom Hanks roll.I will keep ya posted if anything comes of it Til then Beware of the cvs/pharmacy moneyorders!!!!

HI I am scared with all these situation. The past two months I apply for part time job as shopper or so, I send my info, and some days ago I received an UPS envelope and two monegram money orders with cvs/pharmacy logo for 972.25 with a letter with instructions prety much like other cases. I went to my bank and I have had no problem to cash it, so I though that everything was normal, then I followed the instructions step by step, then I received a text when David Rodman toll me that I did excellent job and I will recive a new assignment next day, at this time were 4 same logo moneygram checks for same amount, but the request was that I have had to do the same day. I went to my bank to tried to cash the checks and then they said that I could not cashed for insuficient founds, I never though that something could be wrong because the day before I have had no problem.So after read all postings I see that I am in serious problems, I will lost more than $3000.00 and legaly I do not know what is going to happen...and I do not know what I should to do...

Got 2 $875 money orders from someone posing as a buyer of an item I had on craigslist. Said he accidentally sent us too much. Told me to cash the MOs and send him the remaining cash. Fortunately, we checked their status and found out they had been cashed for $100 each half a year ago. Beware! I cannot believe people are getting away with this.

I received an email this photographer need an PA (personal assistant) so in the emails I keeped telling him hope there not fake he said I can a sure u there not fake (BS) so I never told him I didn't have a bank until I got the package I sent an email back saying I got it and to wire money to his talent agent so I didn't even try to cash cause called money gram and of course they were fake I sent an email and told oh yea I don't have a bank and his excite words where So why can't you inform me before now that you don't have bank account? And I said u didn't asked lol looks like I fooled him that is what the scamer gets

I signed up for mystery shopping and since then I have received 10 postal money orders which I turned into the post office along with who sent it and to who it was suppose to be wired to because to me they are obviously in on it. The postmaster didn't seem to care. I have also recieved two 2,000 checks one acct was closed and the other active but everyday had to be verified which checks were legit which were not but yesterday I received two from ace check cashing. Haven't seen that before but if your evaluation requires western union customer service why wouldn't you take it there and cash it for your so called evaluation. I just send monopoly money to the person and tell them here's ur money

How are you doing today? there was a little problem which i guess we can handle it with understanding. I called my representative to confirm about your payment which i instruct him to issue out for you, i try to confirm from him if he has already sent the Money Order to you. I detect that, there was a misinterpretation while issuing the Money Order and it has already been sent, It was a terrible mistake according to the instruction i gave him, he was suppose to have send you a Money Order of ($500,00)But instead, he sent (1,900 dollars). he claimed that he thought! i said he should send you a Money Order of (1,900 dollars), i guess he didn't get me right. But that should not disturb this transaction.What will happen is that, once you get the Money Order cashed from your bank, Deduct your item money which is $500,00 and $20 dollars for your running around for cashing the Money Order and the 20 for taking down the advert, you will then send the excess fund to my mom through western union, then the balance will be used by the shipper for the pick up. My shipper will come for the pick up on a specified day that will be convenient for both of you, you will receive the payment on Monday or Tuesday morning and i will let you have the tracking so you can track and know when is going to deliver ok and mail me back immediately,to let me know how you feel about this i will be looking forward to read from you soon.

I received a moneygram money order for 985.00 frwith a Albertsons logo on it I use money orders sso it didn't take that long for me to know they where fake the paper was to thick and there where no arrows where the receipt goes I only use my check account for my pay check I use pre paid cards because a friend of mine used her bank debit card at a bar and grill and the next day her account was tampered with they took all of her money they ran her card though a card reader it record the card number and gave them her pin her ss number and her address so be carefull

My husband found this ad online "mystery shopper" so he put my info online without me knowing it. So, I received a MoneyGram (Albertsons)International Money order for $980.00 & an instructions to complete my assignment at Walmart (via USPS Express Mail). The money order was sent by Raymond Hall but the purchaser was Brian James from Servernd Park, MD. I told my husband this is a scam. How can a person send you $980.00 and send him back $830 less transfer fee thru moneygram money transfer. I told my sister who works in the Fraud Dept and she immediately told me do not cash or deposit the check. Its a SCAM!!!!! I am so mad at my husband. Now they know my name, address & my phone #. Who knows, they might be using my name & address. DAMN!!!

i just got two of them today both for $974.00 he told me in an email to western union the other half of it and for me to keep the remaining what if i cash them and don't send him anything it has the circle that turns colors and it works when i rub it and it says wells fargo on the money gram so is it real or fake.

I just had a money gram from Terri Thompson, for $900 and I supposed to keep the $200 for my salary as a mystery shoppers, the $700 supposed to be sent to Ryan Gordon, So I was looking for a place to cash this money gram when I found this site, I called up the 1800 number listed in this site and found out that this money gram was been cash out on Oct.2011 and the money gram dated was Jan2012, Im guessing if I cash out this I would have paid the $900 later on because it will trace back to me when they found out that the money gram was fake. THanks to this sites I did not cash this.

I found this site, I called up the 1800 number listed in this site and found out that this money gram was been cash out on Oct.2011 and the money gram dated was Jan2012, Im guessing if I cash out this I would have paid the $900 later on because it will trace back to me when they found out that the money gram was fake. THanks to this sites I did not cash this.